I may have mentioned it before, but I once bought two lockers (for the cost of $1) full of the big bulky computer monitors - On pallets and wrapped in plastic. I scrapped every single one, pulling out the copper, cutting cords, and what metal I could gather. After many trips to the scrap yard and a lot of hard work, I'd estimate the profits to be over 2K - Over the course of many months after a $1 investment.

We all have certain things we look for, but a good deal is the same regardless of the content.

Here's a pic.

Yep, those big dinosaur TVs sometimes can still bring upwards of $100 here. They need to be working AND near mint condition. Most everyone on the auction trail groans and mentions dump runs when they see them but I figure if they work I can get $50 so I don't immediately shy away from a unit that has them. Smaller CRT TVs still sell but cheap. Something larger then 32" maybe $20, smaller $5-$10, smaller then 19" $1-$3.

Disney VHS tapes were still selling about a year ago but now even that's dried up. No VHS tapes are worth keeping around to sell anymore. Stand alone VHS players still bring $1-$5.

Even those prices are surprising. A VHS player will still bring $10-$15 here, 13 inch TVs at least 10 bucks and I would say increasing by 10 dollars every 10 inches, especially if it has a remote or HDMI ports. I do agree about the VHS tapes though, even Disney is pretty iffy.

I still sell the older TVs and VCRs. VHS tapes I do trash however. Its not out of the realm of possibility to still get $50 bucks for the bigger "Flat screen big back" models.

And the huge 60'' floor model TVs are still a solid $100 around here.

I am right there with you as far as furniture. I love seeing someones whole house, slam packed. I havent bought a 5 x 10 in a year.

I'm sure anyone who is going to read this has read the book thread I started. I also commented on how my last locker purchase was an odd combo of items, from boxes of books to store displays. Since I've been going through my books and researching them, it has become obvious the locker was set up. The storage place in question was tied to another business, Gullys Garden Center, run by an old couple. Well the boxes of books had to have been theirs, because I've been finding their mail being used as bookmarks in a few cases. Some mail marked from as old as the 90's.

Now this wasnt a bad locker, I stand to make a grand at least off $200. But it still leaves a bad taste in your mouth, and unlike most people who may feel their locker has been set up, I actually have proof in the form of the owners mail! This most likely isn't so different than what Travis has been doing on VSA, but you still hate to think your just buying the owners old stuff! These old swindlers need to be called on their indiscretions and I'm going to explore the right avenues to do that.

Just because they are not selling on Ebay doesn't mean they are not valuable. Are you using TerraPeak and/or Worthpoint to find older sales histories on those books? Don't count on Ebay's 30 day sales history to give you a complete picture of those books worth, especially at that age, first edition, author signed, etc. Also try AbeBooks to research old book values.

I have been using a combination of ebay, amazon, and general google results. Thanks for the suggestion of Abebooks. So far the best finds have been a copy of Gone with the wind, and a few mark twain books.

There's gotta be a rare book store down there by you. I'd take them there. Amazon does okay with old books.. I think putting them on craigslist will not yield you the results you're looking for. Rare books are all about condition. I think a book store that can inspect each book, and they're knowledgeable about what exactly their looking at is going to be the best and easiest way to unload them.

The thing is, I think any book a store would be interested in are the ones that sell on ebay. So I'm left with trying to sell the other 150-200. I dont think I could feel good about throwing all those old books in the trash, even if they dont have much value.